Wicked Rich

by C. Morgan

  Leaning forward, I slid my hand across the table and turned my palm up, waiting to see if she’d put hers in mine but not trying to take her hand out of the blue. “At the beginning of the school year, I lied when I said I was giving you a second chance. It’s kind of ironic that I’m the one begging you for one now, but I am. I can be better, Haddie. I want to and I’m doing everything in my power to figure it out. Just like you told me to.”

  Her hand slowly crept closer to mine until her fingertips rested softly on my palm. I almost breathed out a sigh of relief, but then I saw the trepidation in her eyes as she cleared her throat. “A second chance at what? Friendship? Sex? A relationship? I need to know what we’re talking about here.”

  “I want it all,” I said immediately, then closed my fingers around hers. “Ultimately, I want everything with you, but I’m willing to take whatever you’ll give me for now. I’m all in with you, but I know that I fucked up. If there’s a chance of ever making things right between us, I realize that I need to prove that you can trust me and I need to learn how to trust you.”

  Her gaze slid from one of my eyes to the other. “That sounds… surprisingly mature coming from you. Who are you and what have you done to Daxton Breyer?”

  “Do you remember when I told you on the beach that you broke me?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said cautiously.

  I tangled our fingers together and squeezed her hand as I held her eyes. “It turns out that I’d done a lot of the breaking myself. Even while we were together at the beginning of the semester, I was breaking off parts of myself by refusing to let them grow. Whenever a shoot came out, my anger would snap it right back off. What I’m doing now is putting myself back together. So I haven’t done anything to Daxton Breyer. I’m still me. Just the new and hopefully improved version.”

  After a moment, she lifted our joined hands and withdrew hers from mine. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach like a bowling ball, but then I realized she hadn’t let go of my hand. She was simply adjusting its position in hers as she brought it to her mouth.

  Pressing a soft kiss to the inside of my palm, she smiled and then entwined our fingers again. “Okay, new and improved Daxton Breyer. I can’t promise that I’ll ever fully trust you again or how long it will take me to get there if I ever do, but I’m willing to give you another chance. Denying us both that chance would be like me breaking off parts of myself too, but it seems to me that we’re in a season of growth instead of self-destruction. Just don’t hurt me again, okay?”

  “Never again,” I promised. I really meant it, too. “I’ve already lost you twice, Hadley Sage. Rowing might not have the same rules as baseball, but unless they’ve changed all the important parts, it’s three strikes and you’re out, right?”

  “Let’s not strike out, Dax,” she said softly, bringing her free hand up to cup my cheek and stroking along my cheekbone. I leaned into her, not sure how to even begin to describe what her touch was doing to so many different parts of my body and soul.

  But then she spoke again, and the only emotion I really knew I was feeling, without a doubt, was elation. “You and I have always had the ability to either be great together or to blow things up spectacularly. What do you say we try not to blow it all up again, huh?”

  Chapter 38

  HADLEY

  Drinks turned into dinner, and after we’d addressed the elephant, as Dax had called it, we both managed to relax. I was still very uncertain about whether I could trust him, but I was willing to give him the chance he’d asked for to earn it.

  It would’ve been pretty hypocritical of me not to, considering that I was the one who’d dealt the first blow to our friendship. I’d also been the one who kept telling him to move on and that there wasn’t anything I could do other than to apologize. Now we were both having to move on after hurting each other and we’d both apologized.

  What it came down to for me was that I wanted him in my life. Tentatively, I was willing to make space for him in it again if I knew he wasn’t going to try to pull anything else on me. I supposed it helped that he’d never actually gone through with his plan.

  I didn’t know whether he would’ve if I’d never found out. There was just no way of knowing for sure. We’d spoken about it briefly earlier, but he didn’t seem to know if he would’ve gone through with it either.

  At the end of the day, it was in the past. It was up to me now whether I wanted to hold the past over his head for the rest of his life, or whether I would go after what I knew deep down inside I wanted. Which was him.

  Him. Law. A secure future. Not in that order. “My studies still have to come first. You know that, right?”

  “Yes,” he said without even pausing to think about it. We’d both had burgers for dinner, and now we were trying to figure out where to go from here. “I know this is a part of me neither of us has really seen before, but I’m serious about my studies now. Taking over from Dad eventually means that I have to start putting in the work from here on out.”

  “You were always planning on working your way up, though,” I said. “It sounded like you were taking it seriously before.”

  He shrugged. “I was, but I wasn’t thinking about my studies and my grades as a part of that. I realize now that if I ever want the people who work for me to respect me, I need to respect myself. Which includes taking my own damn grades and the opportunity to be at Edgewater seriously.”

  “Have you been seeing a life coach or something?” I asked incredulously. “You sound like you’ve swallowed one of those self-help tapes.”

  “I told you I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection.” He laughed, and the way it lit him up almost made me swoon. “I’ve had a lot of time, since the only girl I’m interested in hasn’t been interested in me at all.”

  “That’s not true.” I rolled my eyes. “She’s been interested in you all along. She was just hurt, angry, and pissed off with you. Plus, it really looks like the time apart has done you some real good.”

  “Says the law student.” He flashed me a grin that made my heart beat faster. “At the risk of sounding like a cocky know-it-all, I knew you were going to follow your heart eventually. I’m damn proud of you for doing it, though. What did your parents say?”

  I fidgeted with my free hand, then grimaced. “They don’t exactly know yet. Before I left to come here, they tried really hard to get me to change my mind and commit to law. I was being stubborn about it, though. I figured it was best to tell them in person that they were right and I was an ass for thinking I knew better.”

  “I’m sure they’re going to be over the fucking moon,” he said. “It’s all you used to talk about. I remember having to watch all those legal dramas with you and hearing you go on and on about how you were going to be as good as the best of those guys someday.”

  Heat rushed to my cheeks, but I couldn’t even argue about it. “If I remember correctly, I also made you listen to my opening and closing statements for the cases in the shows I thought I could do better than what the writers had.”

  He collapsed back in his seat, laughing but not letting go of my hand on the table. “Shit. I forgot about that. How could I have forgotten about that? You were so passionate when you made them, too. Didn’t you start crying once when you did the closing statement and the episode had been about little orphan Annie?”

  “I did, yes.” I smacked my free hand over my face, feeling the heat creeping from my cheeks to my ears. “What can I say? I got invested.”

  “You sure did.” He stroked my fingers while his laughter subsided. “That’s why I was so surprised when I found out you weren’t studying law. I might not have thought about all those statements you made me listen to, but you were always so damn sure about what you wanted to do.”

  “That never really went away,” I said after a second. “I wanted it to so badly, but it didn’t. A part of me still thinks that at least seven years of school is pushing it, but I know it will be worth it in the end.”
>
  “Leah, Julio, and your parents will be okay,” he said softly. It wasn’t a superficial remark like one he would’ve made, either. In fact, it sounded like he’d put quite a bit of thought into it. “It might be tough on them in the short term, but deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life isn’t exactly a short-term decision. This is the program you belong in and I’m sure they know it too. Even if it means being away from them for longer.”

  “When did you become so wise?” I asked. “You’re right about it not being a short-term decision, but you’re also right about it having been a tough one. I know this is what will make me happy, but I also feel guilty that it means I have to study for double the amount of time.”

  “I know you’re worried about how it’ll affect them.” There was a deeper understanding in his eyes when he spoke about this now. Lord knew what’d brought that on, since he’d never really been sensitive to money issues. But at least he sounded like he wasn’t just blowing it off as nothing. “We both know that I don’t know what it’s like to be in your shoes with this, but they’ll get by. Parents are a lot more capable and resourceful than we give them credit for sometimes.”

  I laughed, but I also dipped my head in agreement. “I suppose they did manage to keep us afloat while they were raising us. Sometimes, I forget that there was a time before I could work to help out.”

  “Exactly. They did it once, and they’ll do it again,” he said. “Besides, after you finish, you’ll be able to help them out forever. Right? In the greater scheme of things, it’s only seven more years.”

  “It feels like forever to me,” I said. “But it is only seven years. What about you, hotshot? You said you were all in with me, but are you willing to wait for me to study for three more years after you graduate?”

  Suddenly, he withdrew his hand from mine. For half a second, I wondered what that was all about until I saw the silent laughter shaking his shoulders as he pushed his plate away. “Well, damn. If I’m going to have to wait for you, then there’s no way this is going to work. See ya, Haddie. It was nice knowing you.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, but there was a smile tugging at my lips that I couldn’t quite hide. “Very funny, Mr. Funny Man. It wasn’t nice knowing you at all.”

  Instead of sitting back again, he glanced down at his watch and signaled for the check. “I’d better get you home before you turn into a pumpkin. You said you can’t stay out late, remember?”

  Our waiter appeared within seconds, and a minute after that, we were on our way. Dax and I walked out of Picasso’s hand in hand, and I smiled at him when he opened his car door for me. “Thanks for taking me home at a reasonable hour. Ruby will be back tomorrow and she’ll want to put in at least a few hours of studying before our Sunday movie night. If I’m too tired, she’ll never let me hear the end of it. I’ve also got to be up early to do my summaries for the week.”

  “You’ll be all tucked in before happy hour is even finished.” He chuckled. “A promise is a promise, right?”

  “Right,” I said. I got the feeling that him reminding me that I hadn’t wanted to stay out late was all part of his campaign of proving I could trust him, but I liked it.

  After we got to my dorm, he parked and offered to walk me up. When we got to my door, I unlocked it before turning to face him again.

  “Ruby’s not here,” I said. “Have I mentioned that?”

  “You have,” he replied, his eyes flicking up to glance over my shoulder when I pushed the door open behind me. “I believe you. You didn’t have to show me that she wasn’t in there.”

  Swallowing past my fears and doubts, I looked into his clear blue eyes and curled my fingers into his shirt. “I wasn’t showing you that she’s not here. I was about to invite you in. Interested?”

  His head jerked a little, and he blinked a few times in surprise before snaking his arms around my waist. “I’m always interested, but we don’t need to rush things. We’ve got time, Haddie.”

  “We do, but I want this,” I said. “If you do, that is. We might be starting over, but it’s been a long time and I just want to be with you. We don’t even need to do anything. Just don’t leave yet.”

  “I’ve said this to you before,” he said as he started walking me backward into the room and kicked the door shut behind him. “When it comes to the two of us, we never end up doing nothing.”

  Reaching behind his neck, he pulled off his long-sleeved T-shirt and lay back on my bed, then opened his arms for me. “But we can give it a try if that’s what you want, baby. I wasn’t quite ready to leave you yet either.”

  I crawled onto the bed with him, drawing patterns with my fingertips on his skin while we just lay there talking. Eventually, though, his prediction about us came true and we started making out. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, we were both naked, and making out had turned into making love.

  I’d thought that was what we’d been doing before, but as his eyes locked on mine and he held my hands while he sank into me, I knew I’d been wrong. We might’ve gotten close then, but this was what making love really felt like. I knew it because this was the first time that I looked into those eyes and practically saw him thinking the exact same thing.

  Chapter 39

  DAXTON

  “What happens now?” Hadley asked as we drove into our hometown. She was sitting sideways on her seat, her amused eyes on my profile as I clenched the steering wheel. “Do you really owe him all that money?”

  Relief so powerful that it left my extremities tingling flooded me. I glanced at her when we stopped at a traffic light, studying her features for any sign that she was pissed off about this.

  “That depends,” I said. “Does what we’re doing count as being in a relationship?”

  She shrugged, motioning toward the street I was about to turn onto. “You’re coming home with me for Thanksgiving. We’re spending the weekend with my family. When I invited you, it wasn’t because you’re just a friend who had nowhere else to go.”

  “Is that a yes?” I asked, my heart doing a strange flip in my chest when I realized the implications of what we were talking about. “It feels like a yes.”

  “It’s not an official yes,” she said, playfully poking my thigh with her index finger. “You’re going to have to ask to get an official yes, but I’m not seeing anyone else. Are you?”

  “Fuck no.” After making the turn, I pulled over on the curb at the bottom end of her block and turned to face her, taking her hands in mine. “I guess I’d better ask, then. I’m not sure how to do it that doesn’t make me sound like I’m back in middle school, but will you be my girlfriend, Hadley Sage?”

  “I will.” She smiled radiantly, scooting forward to run her nose along the length of mine. “I’m sorry if that means you have to pay Ryker now, though.”

  “It was a stupid bet to have made in the first place,” I murmured, running my hands through her hair and holding it back from her face as I kissed her. “I’m just glad you’re not pissed about it. I’ve been wanting to tell you for weeks, but I wanted us to be on more solid ground before I did.”

  “It was a stupid bet to have made,” she agreed, smiling against my lips. “You were practically asking to end up in a relationship when you made it, if you think about it. I’m not complaining, though. I’m also not angry about a silly bet you made with your friend before you even knew I was on campus.”

  “Thank you.” I released a long breath, kissing her again before I released her. It would take me some time to wrap my head around the fact that I officially had a girlfriend now, but I’d been thinking about her as that for so long, it didn’t even freak me out a little bit. “We’d better get to your parents’ house. I’m fucking nervous about seeing them by the way. How much do they know about what happened with us?”

  “Everything,” she replied simply. “I didn’t tell them at first, but as time went on, I confessed. As far as I know, they’re not still angry about it. They just told me
to be careful with you.”

  “I’m still not going to expect a very warm welcome.” I sat back and put the car into gear, checking the mirrors before pulling out onto the road again.

  Hadley’s parents lived in the same house she’d grown up in. It was a double story house on the other side of town from where we used to live. The house had a small front lawn and sagging gutters, but I remembered loving it more than I had any other place in the world.

  As soon as I parked in front of it today though, nerves punched me in the gut. This house used to feel more like home to me than my own house, but I didn’t know what to expect from her parents after what I’d done.

  The front door was painted a deep red now, and I grinned at the memories of her mother painting it a different color every time the urge struck. Unfortunately for me and my nerves, I didn’t have much time to reminisce or brace for potential impact before the door opened and her family barreled out to greet us.

  Hadley was the spitting image of her mother, who led the charge with her arms spread wide open and a massive smile on her face. Her father was right behind her mom, looking slightly more subdued as he glanced at me through the window before I opened the door.

  Julio, her brother, and a small, skinny girl who I assumed was Leah, hung back but waited with smiles as eager as Mrs. Sage’s. I swallowed past a dry lump in my throat, turning to Hadley only to find that she’d already flung her door open and was jumping out of the car.

  Closing my eyes for a brief second, I got my shit together and then went to join the happy reunion. Hadley was being passed from person to person for long, tight hugs and kisses being planted all over her face.

  To my surprise, her mother embraced me too as soon as I went to stand with them. “Dax, baby! Look at you. You’ve gotten so damn tall. What did they feed you in Hawaii?”